The questions are listed, 1-9, in bold; my answers to the questions are in regular font; Preston's comments on my answers are in italics. Because I wanted this to be as complicated as possible to understand. So remember, as I said yesterday, we each answered these questions without consulting the other. These are our honest to goodness, no cheating, first-reaction thoughts. 1. What is something that Preston is looking forward to?
MF: Going to Scotland with his family in a few weeks.
Preston: Definitely. Particularly sitting in the pub's beer garden with a Belhaven, watching a cricket match on a Sunday afternoon. And also going on 20+ mile walks along the coast from Elie to St. Andrew's! [Editor's Note: when we were in Scotland last year, I decided that we should go on a 26 mile coastal walk. Preston was thrilled.] 2. What is something that Preston is nervous about (in this upcoming year)?
MF: Preston doesn't get nervous about much, but instead, tends to sail on a sea of calm which I totally envy (he is the yin to my CRAZY). That said, I think Pres is nervous (excited, but nervous) about taking on a fifth class next year (the standard load for teachers at his school is four).
Preston: I think it's not so much the extra class in particular as doing more in general (clubs, coaching, and teaching) - and the extra class is definitely part of that. Actually, I'm probably most nervous about getting evaluated, since we have a new system in place next year. 3. What is something completely ridiculous/trivial that scares Preston?
MF: Thrillers/scary movies. Which is tragic, because I love them. Whenever we're watching something mildly scary, I can feel his muscles tighten as he clenches my shoulder, and eventually he just slips out of the room (afterjumpingupanddownandshakinghishands). It's endearing.
Preston: Um, yea, I don't do scary movies. Do I really clench your shoulder, though? No comment on the rest of the description. 4. What made Preston stupendously happy last year?
MF: I think Pres really enjoyed both coaching softball and playing baseball (he was even selected for the men's league All-Star team! swoon!). He worked with great people on both teams, and had so much fun being outside and getting back into the game. His excitement is palpable, and that has been a lot of fun to watch. I'm pretty sure his new laptop made him stupendously happy as well. For serious. Steve Jobs gets us every time.
Preston: Definitely on both counts, but particularly the softball. Great group of girls, and I loved coaching them and seeing them improve throughout the season. Can't wait for next season to roll around! 5. What is one of Preston's guilty pleasures?
MF: Mmm...Sporcle? Reading bazillions of baseball blogs a day? Pretending not to watch Gossip Girl while I'm watching it? I don't know. Actually, probably playing Diplomacy online (originally with his friends from high school - now he's playing with a bunch of randos sweet people he met in the magical land of internet).
Preston: I can't say I have all that much in the way of guilty pleasures, just because I tend not to feel all that guilty about them. I used to play World of Warcraft, which would qualify, and for a little while I got back into Magic: the Gathering, which definitely qualifies, and while I don't play either at the moment, it probably wouldn't be too hard to get lured back in under the right circumstances. Sporcle I suppose turns into a guilty pleasures when I stay up an hour or two well past when I should be asleep taking quizzes I've already done. But that only happens once every week or two. Diplomacy is definitely beginning to turn into a guilty pleasures (I already bought premium membership on the site I play on, and didn't tell Mary, which just proves it -it was cheap, about $15 for a year, I promise! [Editor's Note: This is true. Typing this post up is the first time I've heard about said premium membership. Communication! YEA!]) - not so much the very casual game with my old classmates (which I'm totally winning, by the way) as the 3 or 4 games I've picked up in addition to that one. 6. What does Preston eat for breakfast?
MF: Orange Juice (though he only ever calls it OJ), and cereal with milk. Always Cinnamon Toast Crunch of Cocoa Krispies. Always.
Preston: Very true, though occasionally I'll go through bagel with cream cheese phases (mmm...) and every once in a while I'll make chocolate croissants [Editor's Note: and on these days, all the angels sing]. If we go out to a breakfast or brunch place (admittedly, this happens about once or twice a year), I'll have french toast, and I have made that for breakfast on weekends before, though now that I think about it, not in a year or so. 7. Name some of Preston's favorites: book, color, place, TV show, food, drink.
MF: Book: oof. Preston reads voraciously--much more than I do. I'm sure the LOTR books are high on his list, as are the Harry Potters. He loves Tom's Stoppard's Arcadia (as do I; as should you all...it's so beautiful). Eek. I don't know what else. I'm a bad wife.
Color: Blue
Place: I think he love Groton while he lived there in high school, but I'm pretty sure that's an attachment to the school, not the geographic location (I think Pres would be happy if it were 70 degrees and sunny all year long). He loves Scotland and England, though I don't know if he'd call them his favorites.
TV show: How I Met Your Mother or 30 Rock
Food: Hot Dogs (I'm not even a little bit kidding)
Drink: either OJ or Belhaven (preferably in a properly sized pint glass on draft in a seaside Scottish pub). Preston: Book: Those are all in the top 6, and may be the top 3 - it's tough to rank them. Lord of the Rings is probably my favorite, and the other three I would add would be Terry Prachett's Discworld series (tough to pick a single one), David Eddings' Belgariad and Malloreon (my first entry into fantasy, and still a sentimental favorite), and the Aeneid. Interestingly enough, LOTR is the only one of those six I haven't reread multiple times (only reread it once).
Color: Yup, blue. Orange used to be a close second (from which I got my favorite football team, the Broncos, whose colors are blue and orange - and yes, I was five or six when I made that decision), but going to two colleges whose primary color is orange has actually made that into a far more abstract affection, as I have seen far too many absolutely hideous uses of orange in clothing and general decor. Just thinking of the blazers at the P-Rade [Ed. Note: Princeton's annual parade for all the alumni at Reunion Weekend] makes me shudder.
Place: Does bed count? Seriously, not sure I have a favorite place - I tend to be pretty happy anywhere. I do love Groton, and I love Charlottesville, but a lot of that is about the people I've known there.
TV Show: Those would be the two; I lean towards How I Met Your Mother at the moment, but that's probably because I've been watching episodes from it more recently.
Food: Hot dogs are definitely up there - probably my most frequent meal; I'd also throw in spaghetti and a good pizza.
Drink: Belhaven (yes, preferably Best, on tap in Scotland), Sam Smith's Oatmeal Stout, and Grand Marnier. OJ and chocolate milk for the non-alcoholic aspect of the category. 8. What makes you (MF) proud of Preston?
MF: This is a hard one to answer succinctly. Preston makes me proud in so many ways. I was proud when I watched him play baseball the other day; he is such a team player--ready to encourage everyone, cheer his teammates on, and play hard himself. I am proud when he is recognized as the calm, intelligent, thoughtful man that he is (I mean, I think he's fantastic, but when other people think so too - particularly in a professional setting - well I just get all smiley). On a slightly tangential note, I am proud of both of us for stepping outside our comfort zones to become better partners to each other this year. I'm learning to say what I want or need instead of passive aggressively moping about it, and Preston is learning to step up to the plate--to take more initiative. It's definitely a work in progress, but I'm proud of us. We're meeting in the middle.
Preston: Awww, thanks. And I absolutely agree with your point at the end. 9. What is your song (i.e. yours and Preston's song)? And why?
MF: Our song is "Your Song" by Elton John. My senior year in high school, before we started dating, Preston drove down to Richmond from Princeton one weekend, and we spent every second together in a nauseatingly cute way. When he got back to Princeton on Sunday night, Preston sent me in an email in which he explained that he had listened to "Your Song" on the drive back up, and that one line from the song ("How wonderful life is while you're in the world") really struck him. At which point, my seventeen-year old heart basically melted into liquid goo, and I was hooked. "Your Song" was the first dance at our wedding, and even now, nearly seven years later, it's still our song.
Preston: As I recall, we watched Monster's, Inc. and Breakfast at Tiffany's that weekend. And I was pretty deliriously happy as I drove up afterwards, listening to "Your Song."
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